After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
